Solutions are known in the prior art, on the one hand to connect the coils together and on the other hand to provide the 3 connections required for supplying the 3 phases. For example, the patent EP1677404 discloses a small-sized motor for electric power steering, wherein the field coil flange can be easily executed while saving space. Multi-phase stator coils mounted in a stator core are connected per phase by connecting rings with the coil ends of the stator coils. A bus bar BB supplied with electric power from the outside is stacked on the connecting rings CR in the axial direction of the motor and is electrically connected to the connecting rings CR.
This document of the prior art does not disclose a coil body having two connection slots. It has no coplanar output track making it possible to obtain the simple and direct connection with the coils. As mentioned in paragraph [0102] of this document, it can be noted that a “bus bar” is provided, which is connected to the “connecting rings” which are, in turn, connected to the coils carried by bodies (which appear as not referenced in DI but which are clearly visible).
The present invention relates to a connector technology solution wherein the output tracks are directly connected to the coils through the coil body and such tracks are indexed relative to said bodies. This document thus provides a solution that uses at least one more part. The coil body is not used in the prior art since “connecting rings” are used for hooking the coil connections.
U.S. patent application publication no. 2007/278875 discloses a connection system consisting of a coil, a coil body, a first “conductor plate” and a second “conductor plate” which acts as the output. A large number of parts are thus required. In addition, the end of the output track is not folded back so as to provide an axial connection since the wire axially goes out so as to achieve a perpendicular connection (refer to FIG. 2 in D2, to the elements 24b which clamp the wire shown as axially going out). This document goes against the notions of flatness and simplicity that are aimed at by the present invention.
The patent DE20200900415 is not relevant either: as can be seen in FIG. 6 in D3, an “insulating ring” 42, used as a coil which receives the “bus bar” 44, 46, 48 is provided. The coil wires are then hooked to the “hook” 92W, 94W as shown in FIG. 1.
Therefore, no coil body having the shape of a slot complementary to that of the output track is present. No coplanar output is mentioned as having to be provided for, either, in this document. The proposed solution does not provide the advantages of a simplified connector technology and a limited number of parts.
As regards the document EP1727261, it can clearly be seen in the FIGS. 4, 7, 17 that the output tracks are not coplanar. This is the first noticeable difference. Then, when examining FIG. 6 more thoroughly, it can be seen (and read in paragraph [0020]) that the coil bodies (the “insulation ends” 10) have a “receiving chamber” 38 intended to receive the Insulation Displacement Contact 40 which is thus the part used to strip the wire. The output connector technology is provided axially by the “terminal contact” 50 that comes in the “bridge-like” portion 16a.
The reverse is true in the present document, since the wire is not bare in the coil bodies, but the output track achieves the stripping of the wire through its integrated terminal end of the IDC type. (Refer more particularly to FIG. 1 of our application, with the self-baring terminal ends 13 to 16). The elements of our claim thus cannot be found in D4 and the aims of simplicity and co-planarity are not aimed at.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,914,356 describes a solution for connecting tracks when several wires are provided. It may seem that we are straying from the object of the present invention. No coil body having a complementary shape wherein the output tracks are positioned is mentioned. No coplanar output either.
The patent WO03/001647 provides a set of coplanar tracks (although the output is axial) but the notion of slot in the body coil with a direct connection is not present. The notion of “the shape of said folded back end 15 13a, 14a, 15a, 16a being complementary to the shape of the connection slot 78” is not mentioned.
One drawback of the solutions of the prior art is their large sizes, especially in the axial direction, which does not make it possible to produce ultra-thin type engines of the “cake” type and more generally which increases the volume occupied by the motor. When the overall dimensions are limited by a restricted available space, the space occupied by the connector reduces the volume available for the rotor and the stator, and the power and the electromechanical qualities of the motor or the actuator are thus affected.